GM sided with Trump against California. Please remember this when buying a new car
Like rats from a doomed ship, a few of President Donald Trump’s prominent supporters have begun to abandon him now that it’s clear he cannot overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
Among the biggest and most venerable evacuees: General Motors Corp. The Detroit-based American car manufacturer turned on Trump this week, backing away from efforts to overthrow California’s strong fuel efficiency standards for automobiles.
With Trump defeated, GM has suddenly been born again as an eager crusader for a clean energy future.
“We believe the ambitious electrification goals of the President-elect, California, and General Motors are aligned, to address climate change by drastically reducing automobile emissions,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in a letter dumping Trump.
Yet it was only a year ago that former Gov. Jerry Brown derided GM as “Trump’s lapdog” for the company’s opportunistic decision to side with Trump in a lawsuit attacking California’s environmental efforts.
To recap: In March 2019, the Trump administration announced plans to roll back fuel efficiency goals set by the Obama administration. Those standards would have required automakers to produce cars averaging nearly 55 miles per gallon by 2026. Trump sought to gut that goal and reduce the fuel efficiency requirement to an average of 40 mpg by 2026.
In July 2019, the California Air Resources Board reached an agreement with five automakers — BMW, Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and Volvo — to adopt a 51 mpg average fuel efficiency standard by 2026. It was a major victory for clean air, climate action and Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Then, Trump challenged the deal and got GM’s backing.
In October 2019, GM teamed up with Trump and four other carmakers in an attempt to overturn the state’s strong fuel efficiency rules. Ignoring pleas from environmental groups and California leaders, GM sided with Trump in a naked power play to undermine the state’s efforts to reduce pollution and address climate change.
“We are disappointed in the Association of Global Automakers for hiding behind the Trump administration’s skirts and its assault on public health,” Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the state’s air board, said of GM and other automakers that threw in their lot with Trump. “California will continue to carry out our mandate to meet national air quality standards and keep working with those automakers committed to a framework that delivers cleaner vehicles that benefit consumers and the environment.”
In 2020, Nichols is on the shortlist of candidates to run President-elect Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency, and GM has quickly disavowed its allegiance to Trump’s anti-California, anti-climate strategy.
“GM’s decision to drop opposition to state authority in protecting residents by reducing emissions is a step in the right direction, but it remains to be seen if GM will be cooperative with strong emission standards at the federal level,” said Shannon Baker-Branstetter of Green for All, an environmental justice group. “We need more automakers like Ford, Honda, VW, BMW and Volvo who have shown, no matter the political winds, they are committed to innovation and reducing emissions.”
The word “snollygoster” means “one who abandons all integrity of favour of power,” according to a recent tweet by English lexicographer Susie Dent. This word certainly describes the behavior of Mary Barra and GM under the Trump administration.
Now that Biden has triumphed, GM wants to get back on the right side of policy — and history. If Trump hadn’t lost the election, however, there’s no doubt that GM would still be aiding and abetting his attack on California, climate action and the future of the planet.
California consumers should remember this when deciding which brand of car to purchase. If you wouldn’t drive a car with a Trump 2020 sticker on the bumper, why would you buy a Buick, a Cadillac, a Chevy or a GMC?